


Across the Hall

by ijay



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: :), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Apartment AU, Coffee, College AU, Cussing, M/M, Neighbor au, Nico di Angelo - Freeform, PG-13 FOR CURSING, Will Solace - Freeform, solangelo, sorry about that, willico
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 20:04:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4578108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ijay/pseuds/ijay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sunny boy moves in across the hall from Katie Gardner. She gets a little nosy as he and the scowling boy next door collide paths again and again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Across the Hall

**Author's Note:**

> cussing happens! just a warning to those who find it uncomfortable! : )

If Katie Gardner wanted to, she could scroll back in her messages and find the exact date that Will Solace moved in across the hall from her room. It was the day she texted into her friend group chat an audio clip of loud, rustling noises, titled " _kill me now_ ". At first, the audio only really sounds like a big cluster of clangs and crashes, but after listening to it again, it kind of sounds like someone moving furniture.

 

 

Loudly.

At one in the morning. 

Katie'd cussed the mystery person out under her breath, of course, and in the group message, but never would've thought of actually going across the hall and yelling at the person themselves. But about thirty minutes later, as the painful metal scraping continued, Katie's drowsy mind picked up some other noises.

Was that… knocking?

It totally was. Loud, harsh, angry knocking. Oh my gosh, somebody was going to give this person a piece of their  _mind_.

And, with a little surge of annoyance and excitement in her chest, she realized just exactly who that somebody was.

God, it  _totally_  made sense. Nico di Angelo was not the type of person to put up with this stuff this early in the morning. Nico di Angelo was not the type of person to put up with anything, ever, at any time. But  _especially_  not this early in the morning. 

And, just because she was that sort of person, Katie fumbled for a jacket and stumbled to the door, phone in hand.

Just in case she had to, you know, call the cops.

Or film a viral video, or something.

She heard the furniture moving stop. And the knocking continue. And the door across the hall slowly crack open.

There was a pause. A long pause. Like the hallway'd just filled with shock, or something.

And then she heard an angry-  _yes(!),_  she was right, she'd  _known_  she was right, that was Nico's voice, and he was undeniably  _pissed_ \- "What the  _fuck_  do you think you're doing?" 

Katie, who was just about to open her own door herself, stopped as her hand was on the door handle. Her eyes were right at the peephole, and she could see a fuzzy fish-eye view of the two people ready to (maybe?) battle it out. There was Nico, in his gray boxers and black t-shirt, folding his arms, and then there was a guy about an inch taller than him, very brightly blonde, tan, and in a light, light sky-colored shirt. The dust on the peephole made it hard to see, but she could still vaguely make out the shapes and colors of the people in question. And although this was a crappier way of observing the fight, by avoiding going outside, she wouldn't have to technically get involved in this drama. 

"Hi," the blonde guy announced, his voice oozing calm. (A guy! If Katie wasn't already been dating Travis, she would've leaped! But maybe he and Mallory would hit it off…?) "I'm sorry, did I wake you? Was I being a little loud? Sorry, I just moved in-"

Katie snorted, hand still on doorknob.  _A_ little _loud?_  Apparently she wasn't the only one who was thinking along these lines.

"You're being a hell of a lot more than a little loud. Did you not realize that, maybe, it's two in the  _morning_? Are you even  _allowed_  to start moving in at this time? Do you not do activities in the  _day_  like a  _normal_  person?" 

Not that the blonde would know it, but Nico was skirting around some hypocritical topics here. From the couple of years Katie and Nico have lived on the same floor together, she'd noticed on multiple occasions Nico waking up at 5 in the afternoon looking like death, stumbling himself down the halls to find something to eat "for breakfast". She had no idea how he ever woke up in the mornings when he did.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the calm, cheerful demeanor continued. Katie raised her eyebrows. It sounded a bit… mocking. Like the guy was tired, and putting on an act just to please Nico. "I didn't realize it was that late! My bad. I'll try to be a little quieter next time. I'm just going to finish getting settled in, and I hope you can go back to having a good sleep-"

"Finish getting settled in  _tomorrow_ ," Nico bit out, scathingly, hands crossing. Despite his… gloomy sort of personality, Nico did have a good frame and body, Katie realized as she- a little embarrassed- studied his backside quietly. If he wasn't gay, she had a couple friends that would enjoy that, for sure. "Some of us have  _classes_  in the morning _._ "

"Whoa! Hey! So do I! Look at that- our schedules are the same!" The guy was definitely mocking Nico now. He had to be. It didn't sound like he was doing it to be mean, or spiteful, but every word in that sentence screamed  _give me a break_. And Nico definitely noticed.

"Fuck you. Honestly. Do you seriously think I like yelling over here at two in the morning? It's not just me- every single fucking person here is done with hearing you scrape the floors of your room, and they're done with hearing me scream to you about it. So just cut us all some  _slack_  and leave the stuff in your household untouched until… let's see… 9 in the morning? Can you handle that?" 

The guy, still smiling, immediately responded, stating, "Yeah! I just need to get my bed out. And eat something. And find my books for tomorrow. But after that-"

"Like  _hell_ -"

"I'm just a little hungry, that's all. It won't take long. I think I last ate a couple carrots at, I don't know, 10ish-"

"I don't  _care_ -"

"-when my landlord, after kicking me out a week earlier than he was supposed to, let me rush to finish my last ten boxes of packing and throw all my stuff in me and my friend's car. I called my boss- the only other person available- and forced her to skip a shift to watch my furniture. After making multiple trips here to carry the furniture, with a whole lot of rearranging of things, I must've lost track of the time and forgotten to eat! My bad, really. Sorry about the noise! The couch I've been trying to move isn't really cooperating with the towers of boxes in this room."

As though to prove a point, the new boy's stomach rumbled so loudly that Katie could hear it through the door. Nico had effectively shut up, and though she couldn't see his face, she could tell he was still glaring. But, from what she can tell from the fuzzy peephole, the boy still kept up the calm, amused expression, although it was laced with exhaustion now.

The fight had been a little boring, but by now, Katie's eyes nearly popped out, and she almost laughed out loud in disbelief. Nico di Angelo had officially been silenced.

"I really have to get back. So I can, you know, finish up and leave everyone in peace. But it was nice meeting, you, uh-"

"Likewise," Nico bit out, storming back into his room, which was conveniently just to the right of the new guy's. Immediately after the door shut, the amused expression dropped from the blonde's face. He rubbed a hand through his hair, leaning back on the doorframe, and sighed, pinching his forehead. Katie had no idea why, but something about this dude was so  _likable_. She was set on getting one of her friends to date him. He took a small, wavering, exhausted break for a minute, staring at the door Nico just walked through, before closing his own door quietly behind him. The scraping of boxes and beds went on for another fifteen minutes until it finally surrendered down to the silence of the night.

Katie settled back into bed, smiling a little to herself. She would go talk to this new kid tomorrow and see just what was up with him.

 

*****

 

As luck would have it, Katie also had a morning class. She managed to bump her way into the hall just as Nico emerged, clearly not giving a damn. His hair was very obviously not brushed, his eyes were drooping, and he wore torn, sagging, rumpled black jeans and a black t-shirt that looked suspiciously like the one he had on last night. 

And, despite it all, Nico managed the tiniest of nods to Katie, and she smiled back in only a small dose of surprise. Nico wasn't a bad guy. He did little things like that- the smallest comments that showed he'd been listening the last time they talked, the smallest gestures that let Katie know that he (kind of) cared.

Just as Katie and Nico both turned to walk down to the stairs, Nico almost ran into New Kid himself. Oh, god. That fish-eye peephole did not do this guy justice. He wasn't hot, exactly- not totally ripped, or anything, and was actually a little on the skinnier side- but he was so freaking  _cute_. Even clearly exhausted, he seemed bright, flushed- his eyes were fluttering close, and there were dark circles there, but his tan, freckles, and bright, bright, bright blonde hair still managed to shine through, and his body was lean and  _nice_.

Nico looked like he was about to choke, and Katie couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't sure- as she curiously watched him morph his face into a scowl- if the choke was from his gay thoughts kicking in or from outrage at what happened hours before.

The new guy blinked drowsily, looked up, and noticed Katie staring at him. Before she could even get embarrassed, or freak out about her stalkerish antics, he gave a bright little wave. As brightly as he could wave, Katie supposed, through his exhaustion.

Nico brushed past him, and something seemed to click in the guy's eyes. 

"Oh, hey," he started, putting on a smile. It was different than the smile he gave her. It was more… teasing, or mocking, except that wasn't the right word for it. If there was a word that described mocking another person without even really sounding like it, without having any trace of a mean tone in their voice, that would be the tone of voice New Guy took on. "It's you-!"

Nico kept walking and didn't look back. 

Maybe Katie imagined it, but the blonde… After he dropped the smile, raised his eyebrows, and allowed himself an expression of judgment trail after Nico…. His eyes seemed to rest- just barely- over the small strip of back and curve of Nico's boxers that his jeans let peek out…

And then he glanced at Katie and sighed, eyebrows still raised. "A ray of sunshine."

Katie laughed, a little nerved. "He's actually…" She thought back to New Guy's glance, and an image of the two, holding hands, arms around each other, flashed in her mind and startled her. She blinked rapidly at the thought, and found that… Holy, shit, if New Guy was actually gay, and if Nico didn't completely hate his guts, they'd look pretty cute together-

"He's actually," She found herself saying, beaming a little too earnestly. "A  _pretty great guy_."

 

*****

 

She was on the couch doing some homework, listening to the mixture of talk and rustles in the background when she heard a cheered, "Hey! Sunshine! Look, daylight hours! Getting myself  _settled in_ when it's not two a.m. _!_ " 

Katie scrambled to look through the peephole, as embarrassing as it sounds. She heard an Italian curse tumble out of a certain someone's mouth and a door slam. When she finally reached the small lens, she thought she could barely make out the blonde in the back of his room, door open, holding a box… grinning?

 

*****

 

Katie nearly forgot about the boys, for the next couple of days. On Saturday, though, it was clear she missed out on some conversations, as she heard a "Oh, hey, again! How are you, Sunshine?"

and a 

"Stop. Fucking.  _Calling_  me that."

and a

sunny, lilting, echoing laugh

and a

door slam.

 

*****

 

Katie and Charlotte were both hanging out in the hall, for whatever reason that Katie couldn't remember, when another incident happened.

"Nico," a voice entered the hall behind Katie and Charlotte. Their heads turned a little, and they were met with a scowling, dark-haired Nico di Angelo and the pretty, petite, cocoa-skinned girl Katie faintly recognized as Nico's half-sister. A couple of others trailed behind them, some of which Katie dimly knew- a swimmer-body blonde dude with glasses; a curly-haired, jittering, cute Latino guy; an awkward but bulked Asian boy; a gorgeous Hawaiian(? maybe?) girl with choppy, feather-braided hair in a ripped shirt and shorts. 

"Please. For me. Have some fun. Come with us this weekend. Promise me?"

"Hazel. Literally. No."

The group nodded at Katie and Charlotte, who scrambled to stand up and let them all through. "Aw, Nico," the glasses-blonde continued, sounding sincere. "You haven't hung out with us since, like, Halloween-"

"I have schoolwork. Don't you guys also have a degree to get? Instead of begging me to go to your stupid parties-" Nico was saying, patting his jeans down for his keys.

"It's called time management and a healthy, balanced lifestyle-"

"Jason, I swear to god, I'm going to lock you out of my room-"

" _Nico, I swear to god,_  I'm going to lock you out of  _your_  room and get you outside once in a while-"

"Oh, so it's  _Nico,_ " a triumphant voice declared. Nico froze, and then groaned, banging his head on the door, clearly overwhelmed by the amount of  _annoying_  that was bothering him.

His half-sister- Hazel- shot Nico a scolding look and smiled kindly up at the New Guy. "You know Nico?"

Nico groaned again, patting his jeans even more frantically for his keys before pulling down his backpack and rifling through that.

"We've stumbled into each other a good amount of times." New Guy said thoughtfully, calmly, giving the smallest and softest of smiles back at Hazel. He turned to the rest of the people that crowded the littered hallway. "Hi, I'm Will. I just moved next door to Nico here. He really… seemed… like a force of nature… when I met him."

Nico desperately stuck both hands into his backpack.

"Oh?" Hazel's voice inquired. 

Nico, in one swift motion, gathered the key from his bag, slammed it into the doorknob, twisted, and dragged his backpack in without a second glance back. Will snorted. 

"How so?" Hazel prompted, again, as the others smiled at Will and filed in, before Nico shouted, "Hazel!" and she sighed.

"Sorry. He's a bit… Sorry. Anyways, we can finish this conversation later, possibly. We'll see you around!"

Will gave a nod and let himself into his own room after Hazel went into Nico's. Katie and Charlotte looked at each other and laughed.

 

*****

 

Katie didn't really drink, exactly, and she wasn't really the partying type of girl, but she could appreciate some letting go every once in a while. Especially after two exams. She and Travis both arrived at the party right when it was in full swing.

Surprisingly, the first person she saw was…

"Nico di Angelo!" she said aloud, startling Travis into bumping into another person.

"Yeah? What about him?"

"I… he just… never goes to these things," she finished, lamely, and he'd raised his eyebrows with a suspicious- but grinning- smile and took her hand. 

After forgetting all about Nico for an hour or two, she stumbled back, laughing, to catch her breath on a seat and noticed a familiar lean blonde awkwardly smile as someone offered him a drink.

She saw him catch sight of someone, do a double take, stare, and smile softly. 

She saw him walk over, maneuvering himself around drunk girls and dancing couples, towards the corner right next to her, where- she almost missed him- Nico di Angelo was lurking in the shadows. 

"Hey, Sunshine."

Nico closed his eyes and sighed, hand coming up to his forehead to massage it harshly. "Will," he tried out. "Will Something. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Will was all bright, now, all aglow- still awkward, but lit, excited, motivated.

"Nico. Nico Something. And I just wanted to see how you were holding up."

After being met with silence, Will's smile grew even larger. "Not well, I take it."

"I fucking hate parties."

"For some reason, that doesn't surprise me."

"Everything's so… loud."

"I do recall you having a problem with loud situations."

"Oh, ha ha. Funny. There was a completely legitimate reason-"

"As to why I was moving my stuff at two in the morning? Yeah, you're right."

Nico sighed again, and said something that clearly surprised both Katie and Will. "Yeah, well, I'm sorry about that. But I still had to do it, you know. Just to make sure you  _did_  have a reason, at least. Someone had to. You fucked up everyone's sleep that night."

"Which is why, naturally, you should go and yell and keep everyone up even longer."

"A fact I realize, and apologize for."

"Apology accepted. If you tell me your last name."

"Hell, no."

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to hold an eternal grudge against you-"

"You? Mr. Happy Fucking Sunshine? No way."

Will laughed, bright and happy, and Nico watched him in an expression that looked… a little like… shyness..? 

"Okay, yeah, maybe. But… maybe…" Will's thoughts trailed off, thoughtfully. Nico waited for a dutiful five seconds before snapping, "Maybe  _what_?"

" _Maybe_  I'll let off on calling you Sunshine so much. If you tell me your last name, I'll have something to call you."

"Call me  _Nico_."

"Ah, but that's no fun."

"What if I called  _you_  Sunshine?"

"I'd think it's cute."

Nico seemed to not react to this, immediately coming up with a "You're impossible." and looking away.

"Is it really that bad? Your last name?"

"Di Angelo," Nico gave in. "There. Stalk me on social media, stalk me in real life. You know everything there is to know about me."

"I don't know even a fraction of what I want to know about you," Will teased gently, his shoulder brushing Nico's. Nico jolted, just slightly. "Di Angelo."

When Nico didn't respond, Will paused, and then brightened considerably. "Italian. You're Italian."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Okay, Sunshine, no need to get sassy-"

"You said you wouldn't call me that!" Nico protested, a glare taking over his features, looking over at Will, who somehow moved himself to leaning against the same wall Nico was leaning on.

"As much. I wouldn't call you that  _as much_."

"Yeah, okay, fucking liar."

There was a beat of silence, and then-

"Solace."

"Excuse me? Soulless?"

"Solace. My last name."

"Will… Soulless."

Will shivered a little when Nico said his name, just the tiniest bit, and as Katie glanced at Nico's face, she was pretty sure she was the only one who noticed.

"Wow. Great last name," Nico snorted.

"Go on, make the joke. I'm named that way because I bring  _solace_  to people. Comfort. Yeah, okay."

"Oh!" Nico realized, after a long silence, and then laughed. And Katie didn't think Will'd ever heard him laugh like that before, because he stared at Nico's thrown back head and dark, dark hair like he'd never seen a boy before in his life.

"I-" Nico started, and dissolved back into laughs again, and Will was laughing, although he clearly didn't know why, and Katie didn't really know why, either. "I-"

Finally, he caught his breath. "I don't know why I think this is so- oh, god."

"Tell me," Will begged, leaning closer, suddenly more boyish and excited than Katie'd ever seen in her glimpses of him. 

Nico tensed just barely and looked away, but continued to grin. "Soul-less. Like, without a soul. I thought… God. I was so confused."

It took Will a second, and then he snorted, and giggled at the same time, in a way that was just so  _childish_ that it made Katie grin. "Will Without-A-Soul. I see. I mean…. Wow. Actually, that's a first."

"Really?" Nico deadpanned, still smiling, slipping into a weird mixture of his sarcastic self and the laughing, sparkling boy from a few minutes ago. "I'm first at something? That's a first."

"A first at being first."

"Exactly."

There was a small silence, where Will just smiled down at Nico, and Nico kind of glanced back, his grin fading to a soft expression. He checked his phone. 

"I promised myself I'd stay until 11:30. It's 11:34. I'm four minutes late to escaping this hellhole, and it's all your fault."

"Oh, my company is that bad? That you need to leave so quickly?"

"Terrible." Nico seemed as though he couldn't think of anything else to say. He'd already turned as he called back, hesitantly, "Bye, Soulless."

At his glance backwards, towards Will, Will gave a small smile and waved. "See you later, di Angelo."

Katie, ecstatic and bubbling with this information, promptly went over to Travis to get as wasted as she possibly could. 

 

*****

 

Hangover. Terrible, terrible hangover, that lasted all day, with alcohol poisoning taking over through her system, as she heaved vomit hours after she was positive there could be no vomit left. Travis, who sported a milder hangover but pushed it aside for her, had dutifully gone out to get whatever she needed- pills, water, soup, broth, more pills, more water, doctor's advice, movies… By the end of the day, Katie suspected he went out so much to avoid her vomit-infested room. But he stayed by her side throughout the newest Pixar movie and some shitty Netflix comedies before finally leaving at 9 o'clock, having night classes. 

It was times like these when she loved that boy and hated herself.

Another wave of nausea fluttered through her system, but settled down. She'd stopped vomiting, really, about three or four hours ago, but she still felt a bit light-headed. She sipped gingerly on some water and broth, waiting for Travis to come back at 12, as he promised. She wondered if he'd make it through the night. That was the last thought she remembered before falling to dark sleep.

A text awoke her. She blinked blearily, and then felt her stomach lurch for a second. It passed just as quickly as it came, which gave her a wave of relief, and she found her phone, which read- 

"b there in 10 min I have ur building key remember but not ur room key. keep the door unlocked for me?"

It was 12:02. She texted back a simple ok, and got up, groaning, to unlock her door-

And noticed noises. Talking. She blinked once, twice, and focused on the peephole in front of her. Will Solace sitting outside his door, head in hands, miserable. Someone with short, green-streaked brown hair was talking to him, asking him if he was okay-

"Lou Ellen. Go on. I'm fine."

"Come back to my place. Honestly, Will-"

"It's too far. I have a class… I can't miss…"

"Wake up early. You can't sleep out here-!"

"I can get a key, probably, I'll just go down to the desk-"

"Can you  _do_  that?"

"Yes," Will stated, uncertain. And then, looking up, he said more firmly, "Yes, definitely. I've seen people do it."

"I'll wait with you-"

" _Lou Ellen._  Cecil is waiting for you to come pick him up _right now_. If I seriously, seriously,  _seriously_  need a place to stay, I'll text you again, and call some sort of taxi to find you, okay? But I don't think it needs to come to that. And I can text some of my other friends, that are much closer, in this area-"

"None of them are  _awake!_ "

"I'll call them awake. I'm fine, Lou. Go and save Cecil's ass. Right now. He needs help right this minute-"

"Okay, okay. Fine. You're texting me about what you're doing, though, the second you know."

"Okay, okay. Love you."

"Love you too."

And there were tentative footsteps leading away from the door, and silence. Katie looked around her apartment, wondering if she should offer her place to stay. It probably reeked, yeah, and it was littered with medications and water bottles and trash cans, but if Will really needed a place to sleep that badly, he might not mind-

Would it be too weird…?

Just as she was making up her mind, she focused her eyes and saw that someone beat her to it.

Nico di Angelo, frowning, arms crossed, stood over Will's hunched over figure, who was looking up a bit pitifully. 

"You locked yourself out."

"You… heard that?"

"Dropped the key somewhere in the middle of nowhere."

"Maybe. It could've been stolen-"

"And let your girlfriend walk away without having her take you somewhere safe, or anything."

"Not my girlfriend. And, yes, I did. She had to go save our friend… Anyway, she had some stuff to do."

"And you continued your tradition of waking up the entire damn hall at these hours."

Will looked up, sleep and longing taking vague shapes on his face. He was a lot…  _more_  in the daytime, Katie noticed. Like… more excited, more energetic… More himself, possibly. He was clearly not a night person.

Nico sighed, running his hands through his hair. "God damn it, Solace. You're a mess."

Will managed the weakest of smiles at that. Nico rolled his eyes and muttered a curse under his breath. "Get in."

Will blinked, slowly, no emotion of surprise or happiness or relief or disbelief transforming his features. Just… a blank, slow processing. 

"I'm not going to say it again. I have a couch you can sleep on. I mean, I would give you the bed, but honestly, the couch would probably be cleaner-"

"Wait? What? Are you sayin- Are you  _sure_?" Will's voice strained to be polite, the longing in it very clumsily veiled.

"God, Solace,  _yes_. I'm not a monster. But I am fucking tired, and you know how I get when I'm tired-"

"Thank you," Will said, in a sort of reverie. "I mean- I-  _Thank_  you-"

"As long as you shut up and  _get in already_ , it's not a big deal. If you want, I can yell at you for being so  _stupid_  tomorrow morning, but I can't really deal with thinking right now, and I know you're grateful, but let's just have you on my couch so I can start fucking sleeping again, yeah?"

"I could be a murderous lunatic," was what Will brilliantly said in response. Nico stared and miraculously laughed- a short, tired laugh. Will, watching this, began to stand and stare, his gaze on Nico lighting up in a way where Katie just knew, totally knew, what Will's preferences were in relationships.

Or, at least, she knew one specific person Will preferred…

"Mr. Fucking Happy Sunshine. Yeah, okay. You're free to kill me in my sleep, if you'd like to try. Just please- _go. My couch. Sleep_."

Will smiled a brilliant, sleepy, dazed smile, and touched Nico's shoulder before going inside. Nico inhaled sharply, just a beat too late, and stood, wavering, looking as though he was wondering at what'd just happened. 

Then he closed the door, swiftly and quietly, and despite some continued muffled talking from that room, the hall became silent.

At least until Travis came, stumbling down the hall some minutes later, tripping into Katie's room, already fumbling with the Febreeze he had in his pocket.

 

*****

 

Katie, sleeping on Travis' lap, woke drowsily in the morning to the soft background murmurs of people slowly waking. A row of trash cans surrounded her. The world was just beginning to propel itself into motion, yawning with whispers, shuffling, footsteps, and jangling backpacks.

After listening comfortably for an hour, she heard a door click open and shut, and some sluggish footsteps walked pass her room.

Another sound of a door opening. "Hey. Solace," a voice carried quietly down the hall, and Katie almost sat up.

There was a pause, and then- footsteps passing her door again, now coming back where they came from- "Oh, god, I'm sorry if I woke-"

"You're  _fine_ ," Nico snapped, exasperated. It sounded like he was about to say something, but Will kept talking-

"I'm just going to my morning class now-"

"Yeah, I assumed-"

"Thank you so much for… For…"

"Literally Solace, I swear to god, thank me one more time, and I'm never letting you sleep in my room ever again."

There was a pause, and for a second Katie was afraid that the silence was awkward, or that Nico said the wrong thing, but then an almost shy, tentatively teasing voice came out to say-

"Oh? So there'll be a next time?"

"I'll be surprised if that's the first time you lock yourself out," Nico deadpanned immediately. And then he went on. "What I was trying to ask, you idiot, is if all your school things were still stuck in your room."

There was a small beat before- "Yes?"

"Here." This word… It passed by for just a second, but Katie wished she could hear it again, or see his face as he said it… It sounded… 

Shy, almost. Embarrassed. Bashful. 

A long silence of surprise, and a shuffle of footsteps. "What-?"

"It's called a  _notebook_ , if you didn't know. Specifically, my Philosophy notebook. You can borrow it to write some of your… pre-med class shit down in the back pages and then rip those out. I don't go to Philosophy until Friday night, so just give it back to me by then-"

"I can't- What if I lose it?"

"You won't, because you'll treat it like the baby you've never had. Here's a pencil. Go to your class. I'm going to sleep."

"Wait, Nico… I…Have to thank you someh-"

"What did I fucking say about thanking me? I  _know_  you're thankful. I really don't need to hear it again. Now  _please_  get to your stupid class on time, and get that thing back to me by Friday."

And a door slammed. The hallway was relatively more silent than it was before, with only the few whispers of footsteps and texts and movement playing in the background.

A few moments later, as Katie heard distinctly louder footsteps pass her room one more time… She was positive she heard someone whistling.

So, Will'd told Nico he was a pre-med student, huh?

 

*****

 

Later, as Katie kissed Travis goodbye on the cheek, she witnessed Will Solace hover over Nico's door, ready to knock, navy blue notebook in hand. It was open to a page with- as she squinted to see correctly- intricate loops and swirls of doodles on one side and cramped, messy writing on the other. He seemed fascinated, still staring, hand still wavering in a knocked position…

He turned around abruptly, noticed Katie staring, and gave a bashful smile and nod as she hurried to wave at him. Somehow the book shut, and he let his hand drop before getting out the key he'd lost and running back into his own room.

 

*****

 

Katie caught a glimpse of Will while walking towards lunch, and she was almost positive he was still staring at that navy blue notebook.

 

*****

 

Katie walked up just as Will Solace, sporting two Starbucks and Nico's philosophy notes, knocked on Nico's door. The stalker that she was, Katie attempted to stall, taking a painstakingly long amount of time to find, look, play with, and eventually use her key. Once a good two minutes passed, she defeatedly decided that it was probably time to go in now and pushed her door open.

Will knocked again, and again received no response. Just as Katie was closing her door, he turned and asked- "Oh, um- hello?"

Katie, in shock, let her door crack open just a tad, smiling a tight, surprised, polite smile in response. Her brain malfunctioned a bit, and she didn't quite know what to say other than a "Yes?"

"It's, ah… Katie, right?" She nodded. "Do you know if Nico has a class right now, by any chance?"

"I… believe… that he..." She racked her brain for any information, and came up with none. "I'm sorry, I really don't know."

"Okay! Okay. Totally fine. Thanks for the help. Just have to… Return something of his."

Katie gave another smile and closed the door, gulping a bit. That was enough human-to-Katie interaction for today. 

 

*****

 

For the rest of the day, every time she heard knocking in the hall, Katie- _nosy, nosy, nosy_ \- would leap up and tear for the peephole. At around seven, she was rewarded. Will Solace- with, from the looks of it, two new cups of Starbucks- knocked quietly on Nico di Angelo's door.

And this time, he opened the door, silently taking in Will's image, and the objects that he was holding.

"Yes?"

"I, uh. Have your notebook." Will struggled to find a spot to hold the second cup of coffee, taking embarrassingly long to get the notebook out from underneath its tucked position. "Just wanted to… return it."

"Took you long enough."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I came earlier a bunch of times, but I don't think you were…" Will trailed off, and Katie could almost hear him blush.

"I wasn't here, if that's what you're asking. I was with my sister. Hazel."

"Oh. Cool! Cool. Um, anyways, I know you hate to be thanked, and everything, but I still wanted to show gratitude anyways… So I brought some Starbucks?" He held them up lamely. "I mean, I thought about it-how you're always asleep- and I thought that maybe some caffeine might wake you up?"

Nico, through the fuzz of the fish-eye, looked fairly stunned. "You thought I needed some caffeine at seven at night?"

There was a pocket of silence, and Will laughed, his shoulders shaking, shifting his weight. "Um. I guess I should've caught you in the morning…" He trailed off, struggling for words. Katie almost cringed.

Before he could maybe say something stupid, or ramble on, Nico jumped in quickly. "What kind?"

"What-? Oh!" Will glanced at the labels. "There's something called a Vanilla steamer that was recommended and… a mocha latte. Take your pick."

Nico made a face. "Mocha latte, I guess. Next time, though, remember that I just like coffee. Black coffee. With only a little bit of cream. That's my order." 

"Oh?" Will's voice got significantly lighter, and bubblier. And excited, as though he'd just remembered something. "So there  _will_  be a next time?"

"Repeat that joke one more time and see if there'll be a next time," Nico moved to take the coffee Will grandly presented, took a sip, and nodded, as though it was tolerable.

There was a… small bit of silence.

"Thanks for the coffee."

Will took that as his cue to leave. "No problem.  _Next time_ , I'll get your black coffee. With a little bit of cream. Do you have morning classes tomorrow?"

"I mean, yes, but-"

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Will stepped into direct view of the peephole, fumbling with the pockets of his jacket, and Nico, on the side, shifted again.

"Do you-" he started, and then stopped. Will looked up. 

"Yes?"

"I… Never mind. I'll- See you."

"See you," Will called back, a smile laced in his voice, as Nico closed the door on his words.

Katie watched him look around the hall before doing a little happy wiggle as he stepped inside his own room.

 

*****

 

That next Thursday, as Katie stumbled out of her room, rushing to reach her car, she nearly ran into Will Solace. He successfully maneuvered the two coffees over her head as she hurriedly shouted, "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!", continuing on to her car.

From behind her, she could hear a "You're fine! It's no problem!" while a simultaneous groan shouted at the end of the hall, " _Will_! It was  _my fucking turn to get the coffee today_!"

 

*****

 

It was a long time before Katie worked up the courage to go to another party. She tried to forget the Day of Vomit, but still couldn't bring herself to down more than half a drink. She told Travis to go dance without her as she hung out by the wall and watched- a bit miserably- everyone else.

Nico di Angelo immediately caught her eye. You wouldn't think he would, since it was dark, and shadowy, and he tended to flourish in the dark and shadowy corners. But, as everybody else churned and whirled in circles around the rooms, Nico di Angelo remained completely still, completely standing out like a single rock in a sea of motion. 

And he was staring. Katie, hopeful, followed his gaze, and was not disappointed.

Will Solace, hair catching the flashing lights, laughed drunkenly, tripping into the wall. A girl with short brown hair with green streaks in it laughed with him. Katie looked back at Nico, who- clearly taking in Will's state of stupidity- stared at Will with the softest gaze she'd ever seen on him.

Suddenly, his face transformed into a scowl, and he raised his drink in some sort of a salute before turning away. Katie realized that Will must've looked up and seen Nico there, as he was now grinning and waving and blowing a kiss to Nico's turned back. 

 

*****

 

Katie managed to see them exchanging coffees every Thursday, when they all had morning classes. As time went by, she noticed Will's fingers linger more and more on Nico's as a Starbucks cup got passed.

She noticed Nico's breath get steadily unsteadier each time it did.

 

*****

 

It was quite cold by now. Snow dusted the sidewalks and the air and noses. The wind started to whine for attention. The sun began to get a bit shyer.

There were whoops, laughs, shouts, outrageously loud knocking, and some "Shut up!"s traveling from the hallway. Katie hesitantly walked up to her peephole- which she'd been using an alarming amount of times- and wasn't sure whether to groan or laugh. Of course. Nico's friends. She should've known.

"Nico!" the one with the black hair- called Percy- shouted as he banged on the door. "Nico!"

" _Percy_ ," his girlfriend pressed her hand onto his bicep. "Control yourself, maybe?"

"I would, Annabeth, I swear, but I'm not sure that's really possible-"

"I got this," the blonde- Jackson? Jason?- stood up to the door, calmly. Annabeth's voice tremored out into the hall a couple seconds later. "What are you do-"

"Nico! Will's out here, waiting to see you! You're going to miss him! Look, he's going to walk away, if you don't get out  _right this second-_ "

The door opened, and most of the group let out some huge guffaws. Jason (Jackson?) gathered some high fives and whooping high praise. Nico's annoyed voice rang clearly through the hall.

"Ha, ha, so fucking clever. I was already fucking ready." (Someone let out a squeak at that, though it was hard to tell who.) "I just needed to put on my boots. You literally couldn't wait a minute?"

 It was hard to see with so many bodies in the hall, but it looked and sounded like Jason was saying, "Yeah, yeah, likely story. We all know you rushed to the door, all excited, ready to see the tall blonde from next door, disappointed when you saw this pathetic little cluster of people instead…"

"I will fucking kill you. No. Just no. Do you want me to go with you guys or not?"

"Okay, Nico, fine. May I just ask where he is?"

"No. Let's go. C'mon."

"First time in weeks you hang out with us instead of him-"

"I will murder you. Shut the  _fuck_  up right now," Nico said, with the smallest of glances at Will's door before walking faster down the hall. "Unless you want me to lock you out of your car and drive away?"

"You do that and I'll tell Will that you had every single Mythomagic collectible ite-"

"I thought I fucking told you to shut the fuck up-"

The voices trailed farther and farther away, and Katie shook her head, eyes drooping. She wondered if Will was looking- just across the hall, through his own peephole…

 

*****

 

Katie couldn't remember the exact date when this happened, but she remembered the moment she first noticed it.

It was a morning class. A Thursday. A class where Will and Nico exchanged coffee. She was quite early, for once, and she took her time strolling around her room and stretching before her door.

She noticed Will knock on Nico's door, hesitantly. Extremely hesitantly. His hand hovered before it for a good thirty seconds before knocking briskly and quickly, like he normally did. She could see a disheveled Nico, still in boxers, open the door, and she could hear the first herd of morning people begin to leave their rooms as Will announced, 

"Ready?"

Nico looked at the coffees, looked at Will, and sighed. He mumbled something Katie couldn't really catch, except for "-class today."

"You're- oh. Are you sick, or...?"

Nico mumbled something again, looking to the floor. Katie managed to hear a "Sorry about the coffee" before shutting the door quietly.

Will stayed in front of the door for another good ten seconds, before shaking his head and walking down the hall. Katie managed to catch the expression on his face. An expression of effort, and trying. Attempting to brush that moment aside, trying to convince that it really wasn't a big deal. He was overthinking, and at the same time, trying not to think at all. 

Despite it not really being her place, Katie felt a little pang.

 

*****

 

A good couple days later, Katie could hear a "Did I do something wrong?" that sounded so low and quiet that she almost didn't recognize that it was Will speaking. She stopped typing for a moment and held her breath.

An impossible amount of time passed before a response was given, each second making Katie ache a little bit more for Will. And then there was a sigh. "No. It has nothing to do with you. I'm sorry."

"So then… Why…?"

"I'll see you later."

"Can you text me about it? I just want-"

There was a slam, but Will continued. "-to make sure you're okay."

 

*****

 

A couple of weeks went by, and Katie noticed on more than one occasion that Nico would nod at Will, and Will would almost say something back, and Nico would brush by without another gesture or word, lost in his own world. And even without Will involved, Katie would notice the Italian guy around the parking lot, or the sidewalk, staring at his feet for a couple of minutes before realizing himself and walking on. And once, just a single time, she saw Will- who was now always in a hurry, or in a rush, or in a daze, concentrated, focused, always up to his shoulders in work to do- catch sight of Nico right as Nico angrily shuffled into the building. And for a second, something came over Will like a wave, like it was painful, like a monumental weight had just managed to catch up with him and drop on his shoulders, and he had to close his eyes and breathe. After ten seconds, he began slowly walking again, tilting his face towards the work load he had in his hands, biting his lip, squinting much harder than necessary, body ready to concentrate, but mind and eyes clearly off somewhere else…

 

*****

 

About four days before Christmas break, Nico's friends, much more subdued than Katie'd ever heard them, gathered around Nico's front door. Katie and her old friends from Demeter Dorm were watching the newest crappy chick flick with whatever-his-face as the main male lead and Meryl Streep as the older side character. Katie, hearing their voices, excused herself to get a drink of water before lounging by the door, sipping her water a little too casually. One of her friends gave her a look and she waved them away, letting her head fall back and her eyes close.

"Nico," she heard a voice say, softly, much softer than they normally shouted his name. "Nico. We're here."

She couldn't hear much, with the shouts of outrage her friends gave the TV screen as whatever-his-face put his shirt back on, but once the yells died down, she could hear a "Oh,  _Nico_. Come here." 

Another long period of silence, and then shuffling, and then some quiet laughs rose up from the group, and she could even hear Nico's sad laughs join them. "Are you all good? Do you need another moment? Are you ready to start coming back to the world now?" floated above the crowd, and she could only assume that Nico nodded, and there were rustles of jackets brushing against jackets and boots stomping on the floor, and zippers being zipped, and a couple of light laughs throwing themselves out to the air.

And then silence.

She made her way back to the couch. Whatever-his-face was deciding between the girl of his life and his future dreams…

 

*****

 

A day before break. Friday. Katie wasn't sure just how excited she really was to go back to Iowa. The farm was her home, granted, but it was also… The farm.

She left her door open, ready to walk out of it once all of her last minute things were packed. Travis was waiting downstairs with his brother to drive them all to the airport. 

She didn't even hear Nico di Angelo close his door, or walk up, or approach Will's room. She didn't even hear him knock. What she did hear, as she whipped around, was an overwhelmingly surprised "Nico?"

Katie watched the back of Nico- sagging black jeans and aviator jacket, as usual- fidget, his shoulders drooped, head hung low. He was only an inch or so shorter than Will, but from this angle, and the way he was holding himself, they seemed like they had a foot's difference in height.

"I'm sorry," escaped from Nico's lungs, in a sort of deflated release, and his shoulders shook, just once, and Will- worry and pain twisting his features- stepped forward instinctively, and Nico took this chance to step forward himself, and his arms so gently wrapped around Will's waist.

And Will, after a moment of shock, wrapped his arms back, managing to guide Nico's chin onto his shoulder, pressing a cheek against Nico's hair. "It's okay-"

"It's really not, though." Nico's voice was wavering, fragile.

"No, no, it's okay, it's fine, it's fine for now, really-"

"I'll tell you another… time. I promise.I just… I needed those weeks-"

"You're okay."

A muffled sound, and then-

"Wanted to apologize before Christmas."

"Thank you."

"Stop  _thanking_  me," Nico's voice was a little stronger, more exasperated, and Will laughed a little. "I didn't  _do_  anything. I should be…"

A long, pregnant, uncertain pause. "Okay," Will said, soothingly, calmly. "You're okay."

"Thank  _you_." Nico's two words were minuscule, and embarrassed, and said in a single  _whish_  of a breath. "For… I don't know. For this. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I'll text you. I swear."

"Thank you."

"Fucking hell, Solace."

Will let out a laugh. Katie, who'd kept her face turned away once they began speaking, turned slightly to sneak a glance. They were still holding each other.

"Do you-" Will's voice broke the silence. "Do you want to… come in? To my room?"

Nico didn't respond, but Katie guessed that he must've nodded, as she heard footsteps and a door quietly close a couple seconds later. She could hear faint laughs as she starting walking down, minutes later, locking her door behind her, to where Travis was waiting.

 

*****

 

There was a sort of dead defeat in her chest as she wrestled her key into her lock. Katie was normally pretty good at schoolwork efficiency, and getting to classes, and getting back into the swing of hard work, but right now… More than she ever had before, Katie felt the longing of procrastination and laziness and running away sneak up on her.

She settled onto her couch, and- for the first time in her life- ignored the heaping stacks of schoolwork she had due this week (she was going to regret this later) and pulled out her phone, burning her eyes out over Instagram, the internet, YouTube videos…

Her mindless activity was interrupted by a "Hey!" and she blinked, drowsily, until she realized who it was. "Sunshine!"

She scrambled for the peephole.

She'd almost missed it.

Will Solace, wrapped his long arms around Nico di Angelo's waist and buried his head in Nico's neck. Nico let out a little squawk and stood awkwardly for just a moment before leaning into the hug hesitantly back, his mittened hands and puffy jacket arms sandwiched between their two chests.

"Missed you," Will murmured, very blatantly, and Katie's jaw almost dropped. She remembered the cold shoulder they'd been giving each other just a few weeks ago, like they were strangers, and now…

"Yeah, okay, well," was what Nico managed in response, and in a couple of seconds Katie's jaw almost dislocated from her mouth. 

"Missed you, too." And two black puffed-up jacket arms snaked around Will's torso and squeezed back.

They stayed like that for a while before Nico tore away, coughing. Will's face looked like it wanted to outshine the sun.

"I have Starbucks inside," Will mentioned, and Nico laughed, following the other back into his room.

Katie stood, motionless, a grin spreading on her face, an unbelievable and embarrassing surge of happiness for these two boys she faintly knew.

 

*****

 

That Thursday, during their regular coffee exchange, Katie noticed that their hands were definitely touching much, much, much longer than necessary.

 

*****

 

"Fucking hate parties," Nico mentioned again, his voice echoing down the hall. Will laughed- one of his specialty sunny laughs, the one that warmed and thawed and melted Nico's insides into a slush of golden sunshine. He scowled his happy scowl. He didn't understand how it was possible that Will had  _this much_  of an effect over his body…

"So why do you always go to them?" Will leaned his right shoulder on his door, in one of his annoying (and possibly endearing) Mr. Extreme Fucking Happy Sunshine moods. Normally, his smile is small, or his gaze is a little cloudy, or he's calm and subdued. Not recently. Recently, he's been shining inside and out, erratic sparks flying from his body, his smile as big as the earth, his gaze bright and focused. 

"My friends," Nico answered, leaning on the door with his left shoulder, his eyes meeting Will's star-speckled blue ones. " _All_  of my friends are annoying pieces of crap."

"Oh?" Will's smile and eyes were sparkling and excited and boyish, and Nico reminded himself to breathe and hold his ground. He faced the eye contact dead on, forcing himself not to burn up. "Why does that have anything to do with you going to parties?"

"For some reason, all my friends think I need to get out more."

"I can't imagine why."

"You can go fuck off."

Will laughed even more, and Nico melted, just a little, slipping into silence. He scowled a furious scowl he didn't mean, and he could tell Will saw right through it.

"Let's go inside," Will begged. Nico, as though he was on autopilot, stepped back. "Watch some movies. Get away from parties. Snuggle. Eat leftover ice cream."

"I don't snuggle," Nico stated flatly, his pulse going a million miles an hour, his eyes seeing unwanted flashes of images-

 "Then you don't get any ice cream."

"Maybe I don't want your fucking ice cream."

"But it's so  _good_. It's, like, Ben and Jerry's."

"Those are the worst. Are you kidding me?"

"You've obviously never tried Phish Food."

"Maybe I want to add my own toppings," Nico bantered back, his face dangerously on the edge of smiling. He turned away, as though he was going to his own room, to hide the grin. "Maybe I don't want any of that fish shit in my food-"

"No.  _Nico_ ," Will demanded, his right hand catching Nico's, pulling him back towards the door. He pulled a little harder than he intended. "We are going t _ohwhaoh_ -"

And Nico stumbled, hand still in Will's, face planting into Will's chest, and they nearly toppled over, but Will managed to catch him and steady them, and Nico- as he attempted to straighten himself- tried to let go immediately, but Will kept a firm grip on his hand and his waist, and said, very sternly, "I'm not letting you go until you agree with the plans I've laid out before."

"I'm not going to  _snuggle_."

"Then I guess you're stuck like this."

"I could get out in a second, Solace. You're only taller by an inch."

Will got in his face, noses a centimeter away, and Nico almost hyperventilated. "Do you want to test that out?"

And Nico, with the thought of Will Solace acting scary, threatening him, being mean in any way, couldn't help but burst into complete laughter, eyes closed, snorting hysterically. And he peeked at Will's rolling eyes, and annoyed expression, and felt his insides became a total puddle around this stupid little puppy of a person, wanting to kiss him more at that moment than he ever had in his entire life. 

"You're just so  _cute_!" Nico burst out, and laughed some more, before realizing, with a burning sensation, moments later, that he'd just called Will Solace  _cute_. 

"I mean, in like, a puppy way," Nico was beginning to explain, but Will's eyes were already blue and clear and widened, and his expression was one of total surprise, and in a millisecond Nico was suddenly pressed up against a door, with all of their puffy layers of clothing between them, and there was a mitten against his cheek and a hand around his back and  _lips on his lips._

And Nico- wanting this so badly for so long, imagining this ever since Will Solace's hands first brushed his, only allowing himself to hope this past Christmas break when he and Will would text past midnight every night- could only freeze, rigid. 

Will, after about five seconds of kissing some sort of frozen corpse, slowly began to pull away, and Nico snapped into action, catching only a glance of Will's nervous expression before pulling his head down and kissing it back just as fervently as Will had before, biting down on a bottom lip, throwing a gloved hand into some golden, damp hair, wrapping an arm around a waist to pull him tighter, tighter, tighter against him, to feel as close to Will's heart as he possibly could, to be as close to  _Will_  as he possibly could…

And Will was taking off his jacket, and Nico found this to be a good idea, as the thick material was keeping them much farther apart than he'd like them to be. And Will gave some rapid-fire, smiling, grinning kisses in a row as they both tugged off their jackets and mittens onto the hallway floor, mouths never breaking contact. Will's hand came up for Nico's cheek, and Nico mirrored this before sliding his hand up back into Will's hair, which was speckled with melted snow. The other hand traveled everywhere, restless- gripping a jaw, trailing down to the back of Will's neck, trying to find a grip on his back, brushing shyly down the front of Will's flat chest, finding an opening around Will's waist and taking it, curling under Will's long t-shirt and gripping the bare side of his torso-

_God Will's skin was so warm-_

Will inhaled, sharply, his face relaxing a little from that impossibly wide smile that took over his features, and there was a difference between seeing this smile and  _feeling_  this smile- how it curved, how it moved, catching the laugh that escaped from it rather than letting it float off into the air… 

Will continued holding Nico's jaw, his thumb brushing Nico's cheek, and Nico's eyes fluttered closed, breaking away to kiss a pressing kiss right at that spot where Will's jawbone met his neck, and Will let out a breathy exhale and leaned into it. 

"Nico," Will's voice sounded a bit strangled. "Nico, I like you so, so much-"

"Haven't we established that?" Nico wanted to say, but he was too busy smiling, kissing a line up Will's cheek, and then down his jawbone, and then across Will's collarbones-

"Nico," Will whined, through clenched teeth, eyes fluttering, his arm reaching around Nico's neck and gripping his back for dear life. His voice rose at increasing volume as Nico found a spot on Will's neck and bit down on it. "Nico, I…  _ohmygod_ … I… wanted… toknow...  _ifthiswasokaywithyou_ -"

" _Yesyou_ _idiot_ " Nico managed, immediately, hands wrapping around Will's neck, lips trying to find his to shut him up. 

They both made noises in their throats as Will lips pressed deeper, longer, into the kiss, pressing the back of Nico's head into the door. The hand that wasn't gripping onto Nico's back began to ruin Nico's hair. Everything started accelerating, getting hungrier, as Nico's arms wrapped around Will's neck and head like he couldn't ever let go, lips crashing harder, mouths becoming numb. 

Something was still bothering Will, though, and he forced himself to break away, breathing hard. Nico made an impatient noise, pulling Will harshly back in, hands going up to tangle Will's hair, and Will allowed himself to get lost again before saying, almost in a shout, 

" _Waitwaitwait_." 

Nico reluctantly and unhappily slowed, letting go of Will's lips with a crankiness Will couldn't help but smile at, a burst of liquid gold exploding inside his chest.

" _What,"_ Nico stated, hands falling down to Will's waist, where they tightened there on his long t-shirt.

"So... we like each other?" Will couldn't help but question, ready to let go of that tiniest bit of uncertainty he had left.

Nico stared, and the tiniest bit of uncertainty grew a little bit.

"Motherfucking goddamn  _hell_ , Solace," Nico groaned, rolling his eyes, hands snaking underneath fabric to feel the warm skin around Will's waist, pulling closer, fastening lips onto a neck. " _Yes_."

"Okay, just…" Will inhaled loudly, a sound letting loose from his throat. "Just… making... sure."

Nico's lips began to roam back up to Will's, but Will had to get one last point in. "Also… We're… snug-gling… later.."

Nico groaned and glared as he pulled away again. "We'll see."

"We  _are_ ," Will announced, loudly, almost in a shout. "Nothing you can do about-"

"What the  _fuck_ ," Nico hissed, hand cutting off Will's tirade, "Is up with you and  _waking up the entire floor_?"

Will lit up at that, a flood of memories rushing in. He removed Nico's hand and gave him a smacking kiss on the lips, before stepping close and burying his head into Nico's neck, swaying side to side, as Nico let out a sigh. This spot was quickly becoming Will's favorite place to be. "No idea," he mumbled, grinning. "Let's go inside?"

And soon they were kissing again, with Nico calling the other some colorful and sappy names in Italian, grumpily grinning against his Will. And after they finally managed to stumble inside, and just before they collapsed with each other on the couch, Will whispered into Nico's neck, "So how come you were the only person on the floor that complained about noise? Maybe I'm not as loud as you say I am…"

Nico snorted before pulling Will down to the sofa for a spiking, deep, heated kiss. When they finally came back up for air, Nico stated, a smile breaking out like sunshine peeking out behind the clouds, "You're fucking loud, Will. It's not just me."

And Katie Gardner, who decided to use some self-control and stay away from the peephole (but couldn't help overhear their heated conversation in the hall) would have agreed.

Now only hearing some muffled sounds coming from the insides of Will's room, she smiled to herself.

She'd totally called it.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> pLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me if this one shot is, like, "too long to be a one-shot" and needs to be broken up into chapters. PLEASE. I don't want it to be one of those annoying fics where you can't find your place again after you lose it because the body of text is just SO LONG.
> 
> any other comments/ criticisms (negative ones too!! any types!! I swear to god!! harshness is appreciated!!) is also obviously MAGNIFICENTLY treasured and I thank anyone who leaves them : )


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